Brendon Lodge

Updated 24 April 2019

The inspection:

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team: The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Service and service type: Brendon Lodge is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

The inspection was unannounced and took place on 5 and 6 March 2019.

What we did:

Prior to our inspection we reviewed information we held about the service. This included notifications received from the registered provider and feedback from the local authority safeguarding team and commissioners. We used this information to help us decide what areas to focus on during our inspection.

Some people at Brendon Lodge were not able to fully share with us their experiences of using the service. Therefore, we spent time observing interactions between people and the staff supporting them in in communal areas. We spoke with two people, two relatives, two care workers, the deputy manager, the registered manager and a representative of the provider.

We looked at the care records for two people and sampled two more and looked at the medicine records for people. We looked at two staff recruitment, supervision and training records and sampled three more. We looked at records relating to the quality and management of the service including;

•Records of accidents, incident and complaints

•Audits and quality assurance reports

During the inspection we requested information including policies and procedures and quality assurance information which was received after the inspection. We asked for further information following the inspection including how people are supported in line with Registering the Right Support guidelines and copies of policies and audits carried out by senior managers.

Updated 24 April 2019

About the service:

Brendon Lodge is a nine-bedded residential care home that was providing personal care to nine people who have a learning disability and or a physical disability or autism at the time of the inspection.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

People’s experience of using this service:

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support. People were encouraged to be independent within their home. Staff understood people’s individual communication needs and worked in proactive ways to provide person-centred support.

The provider supported staff in providing effective care for people through person-centred care planning, training and supervision. This ensured the provision of best practice guidance and that supported staff to meet people’s individual needs.

Accidents and incidents were not always analysed and shared. We have made the recommendation that the provider improve the recording of analysis and shared learning of accidents and incidents.

People participated in a range of activities that met their individual choices and preferences. Staff understood the importance of this for people and provided the support required. This enabled people to achieve positive outcomes and promoted a good quality of life.

The provider had a consistent staff team who understood the needs of people well. We saw staff upheld and promoted people's rights relating to equality and diversity.

Relatives and staff told us they thought the home was well led and spoke positively about the registered manager. The provider and registered manager carried out numerous audits to ensure the service was effective. Staff supported people to integrate into their local community and the culture of the service promoted the values of supporting people to be as independent as possible.

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published 11 January 2017).

Why we inspected: This was a scheduled inspection and was planned based on the previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service and plan to inspect it in line with our re-inspection schedule. If we receive any information of concern we may bring out inspection forward.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk